by scott waldman Staff writer

Published 2:30 pm, Monday, January 17, 2011

The widow of David Park, an Albany schoolteacher who was shot dead after he entered a stranger's home in suburban Buffalo, is dropping the lawsuit she filed against the homeowner who killed him.

Deanna Ripstein of Rensselaer filed a wrongful death lawsuit in state Supreme Court earlier this month. On Monday morning, her attorney, David Elibol, issued a two-sentence statement declaring that Ripstein had dropped the suit after "careful consideration."

Park, 31, was killed by a Buffalo homeowner on March 28 after he wandered into the man's home. The homeowner, David D'Amico, says he warned Park, who was intoxicated, to leave several times, but Park continued to walk toward the stairs leading to the bedroom where D'Amico and his wife slept.

The suit blamed the actions of D'Amico for the death, and claimed that Park was not at fault for the killing.

After the lawsuit was filed, D'Amico's attorney, Thomas Burton, told The Buffalo News he was outraged by some of the allegations in the lawsuit.

"Making an allegation like that is like a drunk driver, driving on the wrong side of the road, blaming the sober driver he hit for a collision," Burton told the paper.

An Erie County grand jury investigated the case but did not file charges against D'Amico.

Toxicology results show that Park's blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit for driving while intoxicated. Why Park entered the house through an unlocked rear door likely will never be known. He was in the Buffalo area with his wife to attend a baby shower at a neighboring home.

After the jury declined to file charges, Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita III called the incident a "textbook case" of a justifiable shooting.

"If there's any lessons, it's under certain circumstances you have the right to shoot somebody in your home," he said in May.

The Buffalo News contributed to this report. Reach Scott Waldman at 454-5080 or swaldman@timesunion.com.